Who Are You Talking To?

Yesterday, during our Bible study, one of the ladies said that when she sits down to pray, sometimes she says, "What am I going to say?"  I laughed out loud, because her words reminded me of myself at a gathering of strangers---a cocktail or Christmas eve party, not with friends but with friends of the the host/hostess, those with whom I think (at first) that I have nothing in common.

When we first try to pray on a regular basis, (not just when we desperately need help), we are spiritually "awkward," as I am in a room full of people that I do not know.  When I meet a friend, however, or someone I worked with for a long time, I never have to wonder what I am going to say---I say whatever is in my heart; I say that I have missed them; I recall some of the wonderful experiences we've had together -- the things we have in common.  I ask about their loved ones and about what they've been up to lately.  What I say does not matter at all -- what they say does matter, because I am re-discovering who they are, what they are doing, and my joy in their presence!

One reason we are awkward with God is that we do not know Who we are talking to -- or, if we do know, we are not thinking about Who He is at that moment -- so, in fact, we are talking to a stranger.
We are usually coming for help or for direction, but we are asking Someone we do not know well. 

Proverbs 3:26 says, In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he will direct thy paths.  I have found one of the best ways to ease into prayer is to begin by "acknowledging" Who God is to me:

O Wisdom!

O Truth!

O Goodness and Justice and Holiness and Loving-Kindness!

O Mercy!

O Bending Down to Hear My Cry!

 

If we don't really know Who God Is to us, the Psalms are a great way to begin praying -- not just reading them for information, but really, slowly praying them.  When we pick up Scripture, it does not matter if we do not "get through" whatever we are reading.  Our purpose is to listen for what God is saying to our hearts, not our minds.  Our purpose is to discover Who God Is to us -- not to the world at large.

 

If we don't acknowledge and know the One to Whom we are speaking, our prayers don't go very far; it is as if we are making idle chatter at a party.  I remember once meeting Tom Benson at a Christmas party; he did not know me at all; I could have been one of the decorations on the table as far as he was concerned.  And of course, though I had seen him on tv, I didn't know "him" any more than he knew me.  What did we say to one another?  Who knows?  Who cares?  It was a non-event. 

 

I don't want my prayer to be a non-event!  I want to know Who I am talking to; I want to know "HIM;" I want to know Who He is and what He cares about.  Then what I say to Him is not important; we have joy in one another's presence; our prayer is really a dance, a union of hearts.  We sit at the table together around steaming cups of coffee or warm bread, or a glass of wine.  We pour out our hearts to one another, not worrying too much about the words -- we know the meaning behind them. 

 

Ah, Friendship with the Most High God!  Is there anything better in this life?